The Central Girl
by hellgirl911
Summary: Riley Schmidt is a very curious sixteen year old girl that seeks to find out more about the Elric brothers, but will her search for answers turn out to be more than she bargained for? Will she and the Elrics get along? Follow Riley's side of the story as she works with the Elrics to stop the impending doom to Amestris.
1. Chapter 1

I woke up to the sun shinning through my window, which caused me to groan. I'm not really a morning person. I wanted to stay in bed, but I heard my mom calling for me to get up. I threw my blanket off of me, and sluggishly got out of bed. Walking to my closet, I chose the outfit I'd be wearing today. Looking at my closet, I realized something. _I need new clothes._ I thought to myself as I pulled the outfit out of my closet. My outfit consisted of a black tank top, green trousers, and a white half jacket.  
After getting dressed, I combed my long, medium brown hair, and brushed my teeth. I walked downstairs to greet mom, and dad. Mom gave me that "start acting like a girl" look. Dad just smiled with that goofy grin of his. He was already wearing his uniform which meant he was getting ready to go off to work. You see, my dad is an officer in the Amestrian military. He's hardly ever even home. I looked over at mom. She was getting ready for work, too. She works at the desk in Central Hospital. I said my goodbyes, slipped on my brown combat boots, and headed out the door.  
Walking down the streets of Central, I reached into my pocket, and pulled out a sucker. I popped the grape flavored goodness into my mouth. I heard someone shouting up the street, so I followed it. Up ahead was the library, or what was left of it, anyway. My chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise. _What happened?_ I wondered. I noticed that there was a short, blonde kid standing in front of the remains of the burned building, along with a suit of a armor and a solider from the military. _What's going on here? Why is a solider here with those two guys? Why would that one person be wearing that suit of armor?_ I was determined to find out, so I followed them as quietly as I could.  
I followed them into a hotel. I didn't want them to notice me, so I stalked them quitely. I hated using that word, but how else could you describe it? _Why am I doing this?_ I pondered as I watched the two from a distance. I heard my mom's voice ring in my head that this is not how you make friends. Wait, two? I noticed that the huge military guy had disappeared. I suddenly felt myself being picked up by someone.  
"SPYING ON THE ELRIC BROTHERS, ARE YOU?!" The bald, military man picked me up effortlessly, and handed me over to the "Elrics". He sat me down rather hard on my bottom. I rubbed it while the brothers looked at me suspiciously. _Wait a minute, they're brothers?_ I questioned myself. I couldn't believe it. One of them was rather short, the other huge in comparison.  
"Okay," the short one began, "Spit it out. Why were you spying on us?" I didn't know how to answer the question without sounding like a creep.  
"Well, I...um," it was hard to form the words, "I wanted to get to know you better. I mean, I was just curious is all. I mean, I wanted to know why an officer would be protecting you. I know my father was talking about a case where a man was killing state alchemists, and I wanted to see if it was connected."  
"It doesn't concern you," the blonde kid stated sternly. His golden eyes shimmered in the light. "C'mon, Al, let's go." The short guy called to his brother, and they left. _Way to go, Riley._ I said to myself sarcastically. _You had a chance to make some new friends and you blow it._ Why did I have this pit in my stomach, like I'm missing out on something? The blonde one was right. It doesn't concern me. Why am I even thinking about becoming their friend? I know that's never going to happen because of this. I should just forget it ever happened.  
I went back home that night, and went straight up to my room to think about the days events. _Will I ever even see them again?_ No! I need to snap out of it! I'm never going to get to see them again, and it's all my fault! _Why am I acting like this? I normally wouldn't care this much. What's happening to me?_  
*time skip* 10 days  
It was night time in Central, and mom wanted me to go out and get some groceries from the market. I couldn't help but think about those two boys. _No! I can't think about them! I have to forget about them. That's right. I don't care about them anyway._ I knew that was a lie, but what could I do? They probably think I'm a creep for spying on them. Suddenly, I heard a noise. It sounded like something crashing. It made me feel uneasy. As much as my mind was telling me not to, my body was determined to find out what had made that crashing sound.  
I made it to where I had heard the sound, and saw that boy again. Except this time, he was badly injured. So many questions were running through my head that I thought it was going to explode. _What happened to him? What happened to The Fifth Laboratory? I thought it wasn't in use anymore. What's with the military guys, again?_ I hated not understanding things. I wanted to know who these guys are. I wanted to know why the military was protecting them. I was determined to find the answers I needed.


	2. Chapter 2

I knew that the brothers would be going to Central Hospital, so I followed them. _Here I go, stalking them again._ I sighed heavily. _Why do I have to keep doing this? Why can't I just leave it be? It's just so frustrating to not know what's going on. I hate being left in the dark._  
I made it to the hospital, but I knew that the short one wouldn't be getting up anytime soon. I left to go home, and returned the next day. I asked mom which room the Elric brothers were in, and she told me after inquiring why I would want to know the room number. I left the desk, but not before she nagged at me some more.  
"You'd better not be stalking those boys," she ordered sternly. I looked back at her with an annoyed look on my face.  
"I won't," I complied, even though I had been doing just that. I popped a cherry flavored sucker into my mouth before I walked down the hall to their room. I stopped infront of the door. _What if they think I'm a creep or something? Well, I'm already their stalker, so why does it even matter?_ I knocked on the door, and a blonde girl answered it. She gave me a confused look.  
"It's you again!" The short kid shouted. He pointed a finger in my direction. "You come to stalk us some more?" I put my head down. I should've known this would happen.  
"Ed," the girl began, "don't be so rude. She's probably heard about your works as the Fullmetal Alchemist." The girl was scolding him to mind his manners like she was his mother. I noticed that boy had an automail arm and leg. I'll just have to ask about that later.  
"Yeah, yeah,"Ed said in annoyance. He was looking at me suscpiously. _I guess that's to be expected after I stalked them._  
"Look," I began, "I'm sorry I spyed on you. I saw you guys at the library, and I thought you guys were interesting so I followed you. I'm sorry I came off as some stalker. I guess I just wanted a friend." The girl looked at me with a soft smile. Ed, however, still looked at me sceptically. "I also wanted to know what was going on. I saw you with those military guys, and I wanted to know what it was about." I looked at him with a sincere smile.  
"Let's strat over," I reached my hand out for him to shake, "my name's Riley Schmidt." The girl gave Ed a glare, so he shook my hand.  
"Edward Elric," Edward introduced himself. The girl walked up to me, and introduced herself.  
"I'm Winry Rockbell," she reached her hand out, and I gladly shook it. Suddenly, the door burst open, and in walked two military officers. There was a guy with black hair and green eyes, and I recognized the other one from the library.  
"Who's this girl, Ed?" The man with black hair asked Edward. "Another girlfriend?" That question made me blush with embarrassment.  
"NO WAY!" Edward exclaimed furiously.  
"No need to feel ashamed," the military man added. Putting his hands up in deffence.  
"SHE IS NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!" Edward argued.  
"You're the girl that was stalking the Elric brothers," the other military guy recalled.  
"I'm sorry about that, sir," I apologized again.  
"Oh, so are you a fan of the Elrics?" He asked me with his hand on his chin in thought.  
"I haven't heard about them until now, actually," I answered him.  
"I see, so you're friends with the Elrics now?" He looked back at Edward for comfirmation to which he just shook his head "yes".  
"I'm major Alex Louis Armstrong the Thrid," the major introduced himself, and shook my hand a little too hard. I held my hand in pain, as the other one introduced himself.  
"Lt. Colonel Maes Hughs," he grabbed my hand and shook it eagerly.  
"I'm Riley Schmit," I introduced myself again. Before I could say anything else, my mom ran in.  
"Riley" she began, 'what're you doing? Leave that boy alone." My face showed my obvious annoyance. "Why don't you go back to the house? There's some house work that still needs done." I looked back at them, then back to my mom.  
"Yes, mom," I complied, and walked out of the room after saying my goodbyes. I guess I finally made up with the Elrics. Edward still acts caustious around me, but that's to be expected.  
On the way home, I noticed something was off. I could sense someone following me. I stopped walking, and looked back to find four thugs standing there. The looks on their faces were minacing, but they didn't scare me. One was way bigger than the others. The other three were pretty scrony. There was one black headed one while the others were blonde. They were all wearing bandanas except the black haired one.  
"Your time's up, girly," the black haired one stated in a mischevious tone. I'm guessing that one was the leader. He had his three goons come after me, but I was too fast for them. I kicked one of them in the chin, and the other, I elbowed in the face. Suddenly, the big one grabbed me from behind. He hooked his arms under mine, so I couldn't get away. I still struggled to get loose even though I knew it was hopeless. I heard the leader clapping as he walked toward me.  
"Looks like we have a fighter here," he smirked, and got up close to my face. "Why don't we teach her a lesson? She needs to learn not to mess with us." The other thugs agreed with the leader. "Why do you say, girly?" He put his hand under my chin, but I wiggled my chin from his grasp.  
"Asshole," I muttered. His face contorted into anger.  
"What was that?" He asked hile punching me in the face. I grunted in pain as the impact turned my head to the side. I wasn't about to give into them.  
"I said, you're an asshole!" I exclaimed confidantly which earned me another punch to the other jaw.  
"Fiesty, too," he stated, "I like that." He came up to my face again. "Wanna have a little fun?" After he asked me that, I spit him in the face which made him even angrier. He punched me in the stomach which caused me to grunt in pain yet again. This time he kept puching me, and his goons stepped in.  
After they were done beating me up, they released me, and I fell to the ground in a pain filled heap. Despite the pain I was in, I got up and walked home. My stomach burned with intense pain, and my eyes were sore. They must have been brused. Mom and dad were probably in the bed because the lights were off. I was in too much pain to really care at the moment. I walked upstairs, and fell on the bed. I was out like a light.


	3. Chapter 3

I woke up with a pain in my head, and soreness in my stomach. The sun was shinning into my room, which didn't help the headache at all. Even though I was still sore from yesterday, I went to the hospital to see Edward again.  
I walked with my head down, so no one could see my blacked eye or bruised cheek. When I got to the room, I debated whether to go in or not. I honestly felt kind of ashamed for letting those guys beat me. I took a deep breath and walked in.  
They were talking about the events that occured at the Fifth Laboratory. Lt. Colonel Hughs mentioned something about Oraboris tattoos. _What's that?_ I asked myself as I looked at them with confusion written all over my face. I saw Edward at the Fifth Lab, but he was all beat up. The building was also destroyed. I didn't see anyone with tattoos. The armored boy noticed my presence, and everyone stopped talking. _I guess they don't want me to know what they were talking about._  
"Hey," armor man began, "you're Riley, right? Brother said you were just stalking us because you wanted a friend." I blushed out of embarrassment. I started playing with my hands.  
"Yeah," I answered, "that's right." I looked away from the armor guy trying to hide my blush.  
"Haha, she's blushing," Edward teased. "So, you gonna stalk someone else, now?" I blushed even harder. _They're not gonna let this go, are they? Oh, well._  
"I'm Alphonse Elric," Alphonse introduced himself. I looked up, and shook his hand. Lt. Colonel Hughs rushed over to me, and looked at my beat up face.  
"What happened?" Lt. Colonel Hughs asked in concern, "Who did this to you?" He became angry. "Whoever does this to a lady needs to be killed!"  
"It's not that big of a deal really," I assured them. I hated being the center of attention. Besides, this isn't about me. It's about Edward getting better. "I'm okay. I just had alittle scuffle with a few thugs last night. " They all looked at me with surprise. "Don't worry about me, okay?"  
"But, Riley," Alphonse began, "you could've been seriously hurt." I remembered those guys, and how weak I was. It made me sick to my stomach. "Tell her, brother." Edward looked at me with concern, but he seemed to sense my discomfort. I hated being the center of attention.  
"So, when are we getting out of here?" Edward changed the subject.  
"The nurse said today, I think," Winry answered.  
"Great, I'm outta here," Edward rushed to get out of bed.  
"So where you going next?" Lt. Colonel Hughs asked curiously.  
"We're going to visit Teacher," Edward answered. He looked scared by all the whole thing, so did Alphonse. To say I was confused was an understatement. Who was this person they were so afraid of? Teacher of what? Suddenly, Winry shreiked in excitement.  
"What is it?" Alphonse asked in shock.  
"Look there," She pointed to the map. We all looked at the map in curiousity. "It's the small village right before Dublith! Rush Valley!" Winry jumped up and down happily. "It's the holy land of automail! You have to take me!" She pleaded with the two brothers.  
"No way!" Edward stated rather bluntly. Winry kept pleading until Edward finally gave in to Winry and Alphonse.  
I wanted to see Edward and Alphonse off, but mom wouldn't let me. She said that I bother them enough already. She didn't even look at my wounds. Sometimes, I feel like she doesn't care about me at all. She just doesn't want her friends to see me as "not ladylike". My dad is exactly the opposite. He actually likes the idea of me being able to defend myself. I spotted something in the corner of my eye. I walked over to my desk, and saw what it was. It was my two knives that my dad gave me. I taught myself how to fight, but he taught me how to use the knives in battle. I picked one of them up. The blade was curved, but only slightly. The blade was about eight to ten inches in length. I thought for a minute _. Maybe I should start training, again. Then, I'll be stronger, and I won't get beat as easily as I was yesterday. It's settled, then. First thing tomorrow, I'll start training._


End file.
